Con Air
Short description
Con Air follows Cameron Poe, a former US Army ranger who is granted parole after serving a prison sentence for killing a man in self-defence. He is flying home to his wife and the daughter he has never met, sharing a prisoner transport plane with some of the country's most dangerous inmates, who are being moved to a new maximum-security facility. Mid-flight, the convicts seize control of the aircraft. Their leader, the serial killer Cyrus Grissom, known as The Virus, has a plan of his own, and as the hijacked plane heads toward Las Vegas, Poe becomes the only person aboard in a position to resist. On the ground, Agent Vince Larkin works to keep the situation from ending in a massacre, while his superiors push for a more drastic response.
The film is Simon West's first of fourteen features as director, followed by The General's Daughter in 1999, and was written by Scott Rosenberg and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer. Nicolas Cage plays Poe, with John Cusack as Larkin and John Malkovich as Grissom. Ving Rhames, Mykelti Williamson and Dave Chappelle appear among the prisoners, in a credited cast of ninety-one and crew of 148. Made for 75 million dollars, it took 224 million dollars worldwide.
On IMDb it holds 6.9/10 from 338,000 votes, and on TMDB 6.8/10 from 4,871 votes. A critics' rating of 5.9/10 from 70 reviews places it below the audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- John Malkovich was dissatisfied during filming because the script changed practically every day, and the actor had no idea what his character would ultimately be like.
- The scenes at the end of the film were shot at the famous Sands Hotel in Las Vegas just before its demolition at the end of 1996. When the filmmakers learned that the city administration intended to demolish the hotel, numerous cameras were urgently installed around the doomed building, which captured this momentous event. All these shots were included in the film.
- John Cusack, who played Vince Larkin, dislikes this film so much that he refuses to talk about it in interviews.
- The film is dedicated to the memory of Phil Schwartz. Special effects artist Schwartz died during filming, crushed by a plane that fell on him.
- Many passersby on the Las Vegas Strip called the police after seeing planes flying almost directly overhead.
- While working on the accent for his character, Nicolas Cage traveled to Alabama and spent some time there.
- Dave Chappelle, who played the criminal nicknamed Billiard, improvised almost all of his lines.
- The correctional services aircraft shown in the film had several owners throughout its life – both military and private. In December 2003, it was sold to All West Freight Inc. of Delta Junction, Alaska. On August 1, 2010, the plane crashed into a mountain within Denali National Park. All three crew members perished.
- The screenplay was rewritten by Jonathan Hensley. However, he is not credited in the titles.
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